History of Art and Visual Culture

Lower-Division Courses

10.Introduction to African Visual Culture.* An interdisciplinary approach to the study of the basic structures (gender, art within political sphere, and spiritual aspects of visual culture) and cultural institutions (initiations, closed associations, kingship, title association, etc.) around which the study of African visual culture revolves. (General Education Code(s): CC.) E. Cameron,The Staff

20.Visual Cultures of Asia.* An introduction to the art and architecture of East Asia, including China, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan. In order to achieve a fuller understanding of the arts of these countries a historical, cultural, and religious context is provided. (General Education Code(s): CC.) B. Ly

22.Religion and Visual Culture in China.S Introduction to the study of religious currents and practices in China and their visual expression. In addition to "religious art," topics include such pivotal matters as body concepts and practices, representations of the natural world, and logics of the built environment. (Formerly course 80G.) (General Education Code(s): CC.) R. Birnbaum

24.Southeast Asia Visual Culture.F Introduces the visual cultures of Southeast Asia. Topics include indigenous megalithic art, textiles, and jewelry, as well as Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture. Also considers shadow play and dance performance as alternative lenses to looking at ritual and visual narratives rendered on stone temples. (General Education Code(s): CC.) B. Ly

27.Image and Ideology in Indian Art.S Examination of the ways social, religious, and political patronage have affected the production and reception of art in the Indian subcontinent. The course is designed as a series of case studies from different periods of Indian history. (General Education Code(s): IM.) K. Thangavelu

30.Introduction to European Visual Culture.* An introduction to the European tradition in visual culture, from antiquity to the present, but not in chronological order. All media, including the fine arts, architecture, film, video, and installation and performance work are incorporated. Presents the major visual regimes of representation while it probes the meanings and limits of Europe and the European tradition in the context of the visual. (General Education Code(s): IM.) A. Langdale

31.The Nude in the Western Tradition.F The human body without clothing in European and European-American art and visual culture from ancient Greece to the present day. Among the themes to be addressed: gender, youth and age, sexuality and sexual preference, fecundity and potency, erotic art and pornography, primitivism and the naked body of the non-European. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Evangelatou

40.Museum Cultures: The Politics of Display.F Explores the history of collecting and displaying art (museums, galleries, fairs) since the mid-19th century and the effect of institutional changes on aesthetic conventions. Follows the history from the origins of museums and collections to contemporary critiques of institutional exclusion and misrepresentation. (General Education Code(s): IM.) J. Gonzalez,The Staff

41.Modern Art in Context.* Examines the social, economic, and political significance of European and U.S. modernist art and architecture, moving from French realism to American minimalism. Provides the historical background and theoretical frameworks needed to make sense of modernist art and culture. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Berger

43.History of Modern Architecture.* Examines the origins and development of modern architecture, from the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution to the 20th Century and beyond. Buildings, urban plans, and works of art and design are discussed in relation to political, social, and cultural currents. (General Education Code(s): IM.) A. Narath,The Staff

44.Designing California: Architecture, Design, and Environment.W Introduces the complex interplay between design--including architecture, art, engineering, and city planning--and conceptions of environment during the 20th Century in the American West. (Formerly Design and Environment in the American West.) (General Education Code(s): PE-E.) A. Narath

46.Introduction to U.S. Art and Visual Culture.S Overview of U.S. art and visual culture from the late 18th Century to the present. Examines art as evidence for understanding evolving beliefs and values of Americans. Explores the social and political meanings of art, and pays particular attention to how artists, patrons, and audiences have constructed nationalism, race, class, sexuality, and gender. (General Education Code(s): ER.) M. Berger

49.From Memes to Metadata: an Introduction to Digital Visual Culture.F Introduction to digital visual culture including critical and historical approaches to memes; social media and politics; and the many intersections of data, images, and society. Sample topics include: digital art, digital activism, and surveillance. (Formerly A Short History of the Digital.) (General Education Code(s): PE-T.) K. Parry

50.Ancient Mediterranean Visual Cultures.* The role that ancient art and visual culture play in constructing social identities, sustaining political agendas, and representing various cultural, ritual, and mythological practices in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, including the sociology of ancient cultures, mythology, religious studies, gender studies and history. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

51.Greek Eyes: Visual Culture and Power in the Ancient Greek World.W The central role of visual communication in ancient Greek civilization: examines the construction of cultural, social, political, religious, and gender identities through material objects and rituals. Includes discussions of images of the public and private sphere, athletic and theatrical performances, mythology, pilgrimage, and magic. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Evangelatou

58.Gardens of Delight: Fifteen Centuries of Islamic Visual Culture.* Examines some of the most representative creations of Islamic visual culture from the 7th Century to the present in order to appreciate the richness of this tradition and its extensive influence on other cultures. Focuses on the social, political, and religious role of a variety of materials, from mosques, palaces, and gardens to visual narratives, ceremonies, dance, and contemporary films. (General Education Code(s): CC.) M. Evangelatou

60.Indigenous American Visual Culture.W Selected aspects of art and architecture of the first peoples of the Americas, north, central, and south, from ca. 2000 B.C.E. to present. Societies to be considered may include Anasazi, Aztec, Inca, Northwest Coast, Maya, Navajo, Plains, and others. (General Education Code(s): ER.) C. Dean

80.Colonial Histories and Legacies: Africa, Oceania, and the Indigenous Americas.S The arts and visual cultures of selected cultures that developed outside the spheres of influence of major European and Asian civilizations, with an emphasis on the history and influence of colonialism in creating current ethnic and racial categories. (General Education Code(s): ER.) E. Cameron,The Staff

85.Introduction to Global Architecture.F Introduces the study of architecture and the built environment from a global perspective, focusing on architecture's relation to themes, such as ritual, power, the city, technology, and climate. (Formerly course 47.) (General Education Code(s): CC.) A. Narath,The Staff

99.Tutorial.F,W,S Supervised study for undergraduates. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

Upper-Division Courses

100A.Approaches to Visual Studies.W Introduction to major issues of method and critique in study of art and visual culture. Focuses on understanding disciplinary and critical modes of scholarly inquiry in the visual arts, including role of historical research. Emphasizes intensive reading, discussion, and writing. Course 100A is a prerequisite for all History of Art and Visual Culture seminars. Prerequisite(s): satisfaction of Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements. Enrollment restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior History of Art and Visual Culture majors and minors. E. Cameron,The Staff

110.Visual Cultures of West Africa.* Explores visual cultures of West Africa through time (Nok to present). Attention paid to relationships between peoples and impact of European/Arab presence on visual cultures. Prerequisite(s): course 10 or 80 recommended. (General Education Code(s): CC.) E. Cameron

116.African Architecture.* Study of the built environment in Africa. Focusing in depth on 10 major architectural forms or sites, this course explores the diversity of architectural types and how gender, politics, religion, and culture shape and are shaped by architectural spaces. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.) E. Cameron

117.Contemporary Art of Africa.* Examines contemporary arts in post-colonial Africa, 1960-present, including new popular cultural forms; arts resulting from new class and national structures; commodification of culture; Pan-Africanism; exhibitionism; and questions of destiny. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

118.Art of the Contemporary African Diaspora.* Considers contemporary art by African artists operating in metropolitan centers, as well as Afro-British, Afro-Caribbean, and African-American production. Topics are organized thematically and address constructing and deconstructing the idea of Africa; cultural authenticity; diaspora; Creolité and creolization; hybridity; cosmopolitanism; post-black; and globalism in the arts. Background in history of art and visual culture recommended. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): ER.) D. Murray,The Staff

122.Visual Cultures of China.

122A.Sacred Geography of China.F An examination of the close relationship of religious traditions and the natural world in China, and its expression in visual representation. Particular emphasis on the ways in which competing groups sought to define or re-envision an understanding of the terrain. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): CC.) R. Birnbaum

122B.Constructing Lives in China: Biographies and Portraits.S Consideration of biographies and portraits in China as representations of human types and individuals, and the use of these representations as models for constructing lives. Attention to historical and social contexts, early times to present. Special focus on Chinese Buddhist traditions. A previous course that focuses on traditional China or Buddhist studies strongly recommended. (General Education Code(s): CC.) R. Birnbaum

122C.Writing in China.* Examines material and conceptual phenomena of writing in Chinese visual culture. Focuses on the intersections of places and practices of writing through various inscribed sites, ranging from oracle bones, seals, and mountain facades to hand scrolls, architecture, and contemporary art. The Staff

122D.Chinese Landscape Painting.* Examines the history and significance of the subjects most prominent in Chinese painting during the past one thousand years, focusing on the cultural factors that made landspace a fundamental value in the Chinese tradition and the methods whereby painters created pictorial equivalents. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

122F.Bodies in Chinese Culture.* Introduces images, thoughts, and practices of bodies in Chinese culture. In China and Taiwan, the body is to be cherished, adorned, nourished, cultivated, and gazed upon, but also disciplined, altered, and controlled. Examines texts and images of the Chinese body in relation to religion, gender, ethnic politics, martial arts, sports, nationalism, food, medicine, and death. No knowledge of the Chinese language is required. (General Education Code(s): CC.) R. Birnbaum

123.Visual Cultures of South Asia.

123A.Modernity and Nationalism in the Arts in India.S Deals with artistic responses to the forces of modernity, colonialism, industrialization and globalization in India during the 19th and 20th centuries. Addresses the complex and often painful climb toward re-establishing a truly Indian artistic identity. (General Education Code(s): CC.) K. Thangavelu

123B.Religions and Visual Culture of South Asia.* South Asia is the home of many religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and Sikhism). Introduces the role images (painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, film) play in shaping these diverse religious traditions. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): CC.) B. Ly

124B.History of Photography in Southeast Asia.* Examines how photography was used in Southeast Asia to document the racial difference and the exotic "Others" under the regime of colonialism. Considers the role photography played in "documenting" the Vietnam-American War and how contemporary Southeast Asian-American artists challenge this photographic history in their art. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors and seniors. (General Education Code(s): CC.) B. Ly

124D.Contemporary Art of Southeast Asia and its Diaspora.* Examines the respective national notions of modernity in the region through a comparative lens. How global capital flow and transnational cultural exchanges impact the production of arts of Southeast Asia and its diaspora. Themes and issues include: colonialism and art education; nationalism; identity politics; memory; trauma; gender; race; sexuality; and the body. Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. (General Education Code(s): CC.) B. Ly

124E.Southeast Asian-American and Diasporic Visual Culture.* Focuses on Southeast Asian refugee visual culture in the United States. Themes and issues include: trauma; memory; the politics of race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; and the politics of inclusion and exclusion from the nation-state. (General Education Code(s): ER.) B. Ly

127.Topics in Cross-Regional Studies in Visual Cultures of Asia.

127A.Buddhist Visual Worlds.W Introduction to the study of Buddhist visual traditions, from their beginnings to the present day. Case studies examined with careful attention to historical, social and cultural contexts; particular emphasis on the relation of visual traditions to Buddhist practices. Enrollment restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior students. (General Education Code(s): CC.) R. Birnbaum

127B.Buddhist Pure Lands.* Conceptions of "pure lands" have engaged the imaginations of Mahayana Buddhists for more than two millennia. Course considers literary and visual representations of pure lands and their inhabitants, as well as related practice traditions. Special emphasis on Chinese traditions. Previous courses in Asian visual cultures and/or Buddhist studies recommended. (General Education Code(s): CC.) R. Birnbaum

133A.Themes in the Study of Medieval Visual Culture.* Many issues associated with contemporary artistic production and visual culture originated in the Middle Ages. Themes to be considered: role of secular art; women as artists and patrons; aesthetic attitudes; relationship between cultures in holy war, crusade, and pilgrimage. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

135.History of Art and Visual Culture in Europe.

135B.German Art, 1905–1945.* Expressionism, agitprop, the Bauhaus, New Objectivity, attacks on modernism, National Socialist realism. Painting, sculpture, graphic art, and some architecture and film, studied in the context of political events from the eve of World War I to the end of World War II. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

135D.French Painting, 1780-1855.* The art of David, Gros, Ingres, Gericault, Delacroix, the Barbizon School, and Courbet studied in relation to the changing status of the art and the political events from 1789 to 1848. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

135E.Jewish Identity and Visual Representation.* An exploration of the theoretical and practical or experiential applications of Jewish identity in European visual representation. Brief background on pre-emancipation textual and cultural issues followed by study of the Jewish subject and Jewish subjectivities in modernity. Enrollment restricted to juniors and seniors. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

135H.Topics in European and Euro-American Visual Culture.* Consideration of how and why Europeans in Europe and Europeans and European-Americans in North America blended nature and human response between 1600 and the present in a variety of media and practices (painting, maps, photography, tourism, film, scouting, artist colonies). May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

135P.Paris, "Capital of the 19th Century".* Examines the places, spaces, practices, and representations of Paris in the 19th century. Tracing the changing face(s) of Paris by way of its literary and visual representations, students consider the experiences and constructions of the modern city. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

137.Renaissance.

137A.Northern Renaissance Art.* Considers the painting and prints produced in Northern Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Major issues include the status of realism and classicism, the role of religion and religious reform, and the rise of popular imagery. (General Education Code(s): CC.) The Staff

137E.Renaissance Prints.W Examines the issues surrounding the technology and uses of printed images from the early Renaissance through the end of the early modern period. Topics may include the political, religious, and satirical uses of prints and the representation of women in prints. (General Education Code(s): IM.) A. Langdale

140.History of Art and Visual Culture in the U.S..

140A.America in Art.* Introduction to American visual arts: architecture, painting, photography, sculpture, and performance art, from the nineteenth through the twenty-first century. Explore social and political meanings of art and what art reveals about our nation's values and beliefs, in particular, gender and race. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Berger

140B.Victorian America.* Examines how American writers and artists negotiated complexities of U.S. society during the 19th century. Emphasis on issues ranging from women's rights to laissez-faire capitalism, and from Reconstruction to manifest destiny. Considers how the era's cultural products provided artists, patrons, and audiences with metaphorical coping strategies to counteract what Victorians perceived to be the period's overwhelming social and political changes. (General Education Code(s): ER.) M. Berger

140C.Race and American Visual Arts.* Investigation of the role played by visual arts in fashioning the racial identities of European-Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos in the United States. (General Education Code(s): ER.) M. Berger,The Staff

140E.Art and Science in America: "Contact" to circa 1900.* Examines the relationship between art and scientific inquiry in American visual culture from earliest European exploration through the 19th century, when new scientific theories and technological advancements challenged earlier modes of understanding vision, spirituality, and the physical world. (General Education Code(s): PE-T.) The Staff

140P.Pop Culture as High Art.* Examines how Pop Art and popular culture in the Untied States were (re)formulated into public icons that challenged the visual and ideological associations between "high" and "low" art. (Formerly Pop and Popular Culture.) (General Education Code(s): IM.) D. Murray

141.Modern Art and Visual Culture in Europe and the Americas.

141A.Modern Art: Realism to Cubism.* Modern art in Europe and America, 1848-1914. Consideration of painting, graphic arts, and sculpture in Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism (Symbolism) Art Nouveau, Fauvism, and Cubism as well as exploration of photography's changing status and influence. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

141B.Death, Desire, and Modernity.S Explores war, consumption and desire in the art of the 20th century. From Paris to New York, Cubism to Feminism, explores the relationship between the visual arts and intellectual movements such as psychoanalysis, existentialism, and phenomenology with particular attention to racial and sexual politics. (Formerly Modern Art: Cubism to Pop,) (General Education Code(s): IM.) J. Gonzalez,The Staff

141C.Modern Art: Pop to Present.F Surveys major art forms and critical ideas that have shaped artistic practice from the 1950s to the present, including an overview of the socio-political, economic, and cultural forces that inspire artists to articulate human experience in visual form. (General Education Code(s): IM.) D. Murray,The Staff

141E.Histories of Photography.* Introduction to the histories of photography and the critical debates around different photographic genres such as medical photography, art photography, and political photography. Students will develop a critical language in order to analyze photographs while considering the importance of social and institutional contexts. (General Education Code(s): IM.) J. Gonzalez,The Staff

141F.The Camera and the Body.* Through the study of historical and contemporary visual texts (from ethnography and portraiture to advertising and erotica), this course explores how photographic images of the body, while masquerading as "natural," "self-evident," or "scientific," participate in highly coded sign systems that influence who looks at whom, how, when, and why. (General Education Code(s): IM.) J. Gonzalez

141H.Media History and Theory.* An introductory examination of the writing about the issue of "medium" and media theory in visual culture. Technologies, discourses, and practices from all periods that use the comparison of media as a major approach to understanding the problems of the visual are highlighted. New media, film, television, video, traditional arts are also treated. (General Education Code(s): IM.) K. Parry

141I.Environments, Installations, and Sites.* A study of conceptual and formal issues that have informed the production of temporary, site-specific art works since 1960. Works that seek to transform the role of the audience, to escape or remake museum and gallery spaces, to introduce environmental concerns, or to situate art in "the land" or in "the street" serve as a focus. Enrollment limited to 35. (General Education Code(s): IM.) J. Gonzalez

141J.Critical Issues in Contemporary Art and Visual Culture.S Considers the relationship between art, cinema, and postmodernism. Specific, thematically oriented topics are considered including: the impact of cinema aesthetics on contemporary art; film and digital technology; cinematic structure as cultural critique; and filmic strategies as an ideological tool. (General Education Code(s): IM.) D. Murray

141K.Activist Art Since 1960: Art, Technology, Activism.F Students explore art and technology produced for social change since 1960 within the context of major historical ruptures, such as the Vietnam War, the women's movement, environmental protection, AIDS activism, anti-capitalist, and international human rights movements. (General Education Code(s): IM.) T. Demos,The Staff

141P.Networks and Natures: Art, Technology, and the Nonhuman.F Through critical readings and primary sources, this course explores the historical and theoretical developments in the interactions of art, culture, nature, and technology. Sample topics include environmental art; media infrastructures; concepts of nature and the nonhuman; and climate change and visual culture. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.) K. Parry

143A.Contemporary Architecture and Critical Debates.* Examination of practitioners, projects, issues, and theories in contemporary architecture circa 1968 to the present. Topics include the architecture of aftermath, the ethics of memory and memorialization, the corporatization of museums, the role of criticism and exhibitions, and the cult of the brand-name architect. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

143B.History of Urban Design.* Examines urban design from the Renaissance to the present, including Latin American colonial cities, Utopian plans, and sites such as Brasilia and Chandigarh. The course focuses on social justice, diversity, and the role of art and architecture. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

143C.Latin American Modern Architecture.* Presents Latin America's modern architecture with relation to colonization; the influence of immigrants from Europe, Africa, and Asia; the presence of indigenous cultures; and the search for autonomy. Case studies include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, and Uruguay. (General Education Code(s): CC.) The Staff

143D.Architecture and the City in Modern and Contemporary Visual Culture.* Examines the modern and contemporary depictions of cities in visual and material culture, from paintings and photographs to logotypes and souvenirs. Also examines the roles of narrative in spatial representations, including literature, film, and television productions. Enrollment restricted to juniors and seniors. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

143E.History of Design: The Objects of Technology, 1850-The Present.* Traces the connections between key movements in modern design and the evolution of technology in society. Also provides a framework for engaging critically with the proliferation of technology in society today. (General Education Code(s): PE-T.) A. Narath

143F.Memory, Place, and Architecture.* How have architects engaged memory and place in architectural projects and built landscapes since World War II? Examines memorializing, memory, and erasure of place in reconstruction of cities, creation of memorials, and design of buildings. (Formerly Constructing Memory and Place in Postwar Architecture.) Enrollment restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Enrollment limited to 35. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

143G.After Utopia: Architecture and the City, 1968-Present.W Explores critical issues in the history of architecture and urbanism from 1968 to the present. Major themes in the development of contemporary architecture are introduced, including the uneven legacy of modernism, the growth of cities, changing technologies, environmental issues, and the social and political context of design. (General Education Code(s): PE-E.) A. Narath

151.Greek Myths Antiquity to the Present.S Myths dominated the culture and visual production of the ancient Greek world, and their presence is still strong today. How did they codify social, political, and religious realities and needs? How were they perceived in different time periods? In addition to ancient Greek and Roman and later European sculptures and paintings, this course considers less conventional sources, such as modern films, comics, and advertisements. Course 51 recommended as preparation. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Evangelatou

152.Roman Eyes: Visual Culture and Power in the Ancient Roman World.* Visual culture in the ancient Roman world, from temples and public monuments to houses and tombs, performances, and rituals. Examines the construction of social and cultural identities, including class, gender, and sexuality, through architecture, sculpture, painting, household objects, jewelry, etc. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

154.Byzantine Visual Culture: Politics and Religion in the Empire of Constantinople, 330-1453 A. C.* Centered on the capital city of Constantinople (modern Istanbul), the Hellenized and Christianized Roman Empire of the Easter Mediterranean today known as Byzantium played a major, yet often overlooked, role in European history for more than a millennium. This course examines its visual production and relation to politics and religion in court and church ceremonial, expressions of Christian faith, and cultural interactions with Western Europe, Islam, and the Slavic world. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Evangelatou,The Staff

155.Constructing Cleopatra: Power, Sexuality, and Femininity Across the Ages.* The construction of female identity and the "production" of history through the myth of Cleopatra. Critical analysis of archeological data and ancient sources, later sculptures and paintings, and contemporary films, movies posters, Internet sites, advertisements, comics, games, dolls, and household objects. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Evangelatou

157B.Italian Renaissance: Art and Architecture.W Lives of Italian Renaissance people from birth to death, examining the nature and roles of the institutions which defined human existence in this period. Uses visual arts both illustratively and to study how institutions fashioned their images through art and architecture. (General Education Code(s): IM.) A. Langdale

157C.High Renaissance.* An investigation of the High Renaissance as a period and stylistic concept, using the major artists and monuments of the period 1480–1525 to discuss issues of theory, history, and art. Artists considered include Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

157D.Art of the Venetian Renaissance.* Considers Venetian art in the 15th and 16th centuries. Topics include major artists (the Bellini, Carpaccio, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Palladio) and the relationship of the city to outside forces (Byzantine Empire, Turkish Empires) and other Italian cities. (General Education Code(s): IM.) A. Langdale

162A.Advanced Studies in Pre-Hispanic Visual Culture: The Maya.S The art and architecture of the Maya of southern Mesoamerica from the first century C.E. to ca. 1500. Courses 80, 60, or 160A recommended as preparation. (General Education Code(s): CC.) C. Dean,The Staff

162B.Advanced Studies in Pre-Hispanic Visual Culture: The Inka.* The visual culture of the Inka of the Andean region of western South America including textiles, metalwork, and the built environment. Courses 60 or 80 recommended as preparation. (General Education Code(s): CC.) C. Dean

179.Topics in Oceanic Visual Culture.* Examines selected and changing topics in the study of oceanic visual culture. The specific topic varies with each offering in order to keep up with recent directions in scholarship. Possible topics include: archaeological material and visual cultures; colonial-era images, objects, and spaces; architecture and environments; performance; gender; race and ethnicity; modern/contemporary art and visual culture; and/or a regional focus. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): CC.) S. Kamehiro,The Staff

180A.Global Contemporary Art.* Examines selected and changing topics in the study of contemporary art in a globalized world but outside of Europe and Euro-America where contemporary arts forms move across discrete geographical areas along newly developing networks. The specific topic varies with each offering to keep up with recent directions in scholarship. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): CC.) The Staff

185.Art and Community: Arts Professions and Community Engagement.S Introduces the practices and production of art historical/visual cultural knowledge. Topics include: interdisciplinarity, pedagogy, museums, art criticism, digital humanities, cultural property, preservation, conservation, art/cultural organizations, art markets, archives, and the role of the humanities in contemporary life. (Formerly Critical Issues and Professional Practices in Visual Studies.) Enrollment is restricted to history of art and visual cultural majors. S. Kamehiro

186.Horror and Gender in Art and Visual Culture.* Explores the theme of horror in 20th/21st-Century visual culture. Unpacks how horror is often reflective of entrenched cultural anxieties around the interplay between gender, morality, and female sexuality. (General Education Code(s): IM.) D. Murray

190.Seminars in the History of Art and Visual Culture.

190A.African Art and Visual Culture.* Advanced seminar requiring intensive research and writing on changing topics related to a specific area of African art and/or visual culture chosen to demonstrate critical mastery of this subject. Prerequisite(s): course 10 or 80. May be repeated for credit. E. Cameron

190B.Play and Ritual in Visual Cultures.S Compares how play and ritual construct worlds and regulate visual cultures—from dolls to "ritual" objects and performances. Attention given to areas where play and ritual overlap and the visual cultures that result. E. Cameron

190C.The Mediterranean from the Rise of Christianity to the Rise of Islam.* Examines the visual culture of the Mediterranean from the 3rd to the 7th centuries A.D., focusing on the historical and cultural developments which led to the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire and its transformation to what we call Byzantium. (General Education Code(s): IM.) M. Evangelatou

190D.The World of the Lotus Sutra.* Close study of the principal text of East Asian Buddhism as a self-enclosed vision of reality, with careful consideration of the forms and functions of the world of visual and aural representation that it has inspired. Prerequisite(s): course 127A or by permission of instructor. R. Birnbaum

190E.Huayan Visions.* Explores the distinctive conceptual world of the Buddhist Huayanjing (Avatamsaka-sutra) and its expression in visual forms. This long text, composed in Sanskrit and later translated into Chinese, is a principal scripture of the international Mahayana Buddhist traditions of Asia. Prerequisite(s): course 127A or by permission of instructor. R. Birnbaum

190F.Chan Texts and Images.* Examines selected issues in history of Chan (Zen) Buddhist traditions in China from medieval times to the present day. Concepts, methods, and visual expression of Chan practice situated through study of texts and visual materials. Prerequisite(s): course 127A or by permission of instructor. R. Birnbaum

190G.Buddhist Wisdom Traditions.* Careful study of Mahayana Buddhist perfection-of-wisdom traditions--texts and related material culture, including visual imagery and illustrated books--with focus on the particular vision of reality that they aim to produce or reveal. Prerequisite(s): course 127A or by permission of instructor. R. Birnbaum

190K.Thematic Approach to Visual Cultures of Southeast Asia and Its Diaspora.F Undergraduate seminar that takes topical and thematic approaches to looking at the visual cultures of Southeast Asia and its diaspora. Media and themes include textile, film and literature, comparative modernity, race, gender, and sexuality. The specific topic and them varies from year to year. (Formerly Thematic Approach to Visual Cultures of Southeast Asia.) B. Ly

190M.Representations of Women in Indian Art.* Deals with representations of the female divinity in Indian religious imagery, and of women in secular and courtly paintings. Also examines roles women play in the production of art in the Indian subcontinent. K. Thangavelu

190N.Topics in Mediterranean Visual Culture.* Examines selected and changing topics in the study of Mediterranean visual culture. Topics vary with each offering to keep up with recent directions in scholarship. Possible topics: Bronze Age Aegean cultures; myth, ritual, and religion in the Near East; Greek and Roman gender and sexuality; seafarers and cross-cultural interactions in the ancient Mediterranean; Islamic cultures of North African and Spain. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): CC.) M. Evangelatou,The Staff

190O.Berlin: History and the Built Environment.* Explores Berlin's urban and architectural history through themes: the meaning of memory in architecture; the political and cultural implications of preservation, globalization, and tourism. Because these questions are relevant beyond Berlin, course draws comparisons with other cities. The Staff

190P.Death and Patriotism: The Case of the French Revolution.* What are the relations between the mortal body and politics in times of crisis? What purposes can death, or the threat of death, serve? Examines representations of executions, assassinations, and funerals during the French Revolution, with an emphasis on the Terror. The Staff

190Q.Portraiture: Europe and America, 1400–1990.* Western portraiture and self-portraiture at certain key moments (early modern Italy, 16th-century Germany, 17th-century Holland, France from the reign of Louis XIV to the Revolution, contemporary U.S.) are explored by reading 20th-century interpretations and some primary sources. This course can be taken for senior exit credit only by permission of the instructor. The Staff

190S.New Directions in Contemporary Art.F Explores how critical theory illuminates forms of cultural production, from art and cinema to popular culture. Considers how scholars, artists, and filmmakers use critical theory both creatively and in the study of aesthetic objects and experiences. (Formerly Critical Issues in Contemporary Art and Visual Culture.) D. Murray

190T.Topics in Pre- and Post-Columbian Visual Culture.* Seminar on changing topics related to the current scholarship on pre-Hispanic and colonial Spanish American visual culture. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

190V.Cult of Mary in Byzantium.* Why did the cult of the Virgin Mary become so important in Byzantine culture? Examines historical, cultural, theological, political, and social reasons for this development, seen through the interaction of Byzantine visual culture and literature. M. Evangelatou

190X.Art and Identity in Oceania.* Theoretical discussions and Pacific Basin case studies on 1) definitions of cultural, ethnic, and national identities; 2) relationship between art, museums, and construction of historical and cultural narratives; 3) ways "tradition" defined in art practices and used by groups to assert an identity in their present. Participants first develop a theoretical framework and vocabulary for analyzing artistic production in a variety of cultures. Through specific case studies, will explore how art, architecture, and museums actively contribute to define and challenge ethnic and national identities. Prior course work related to Oceania recommended but not required. (General Education Code(s): ER.) S. Kamehiro,The Staff

191.Seminars in the History of Art and Visual Culture.

191A.Iconoclasm.* What happens when, to control an object, it is destroyed? Examines destruction of art as a way of ending the object's life cycle, as a device of social tension/change, and as a colonial and post-colonial mechanism of religious/political control. E. Cameron

191B.The Virgin of Guadalupe: Images and Symbolism in Spain, Mexico, and the U.S.* Focus on the histories of miraculous images of La Virgen de Guadalupe de Extremadura (Spain) and La Virgen de Guadalupe de Tepeyac (Mexico). The foundations and growth of the cult of the Mexican Guadalupe during the colonial period is examined along with the multivalent symbolism of her image. Considers contemporary "appearances" of the Virgin of Guadalupe, from the miraculous images on a tree in central California and the compositions of Chicano artists, to mass-produced kitsch. C. Dean,The Staff

191D.Semiotics and Visual Culture.W How can visual culture be understood as the production, circulation, and recirculation of signs? This course offers a history of semiotics and its methodological application in the analysis of images in popular culture and within the discipline of art history. J. Gonzalez

191E.Feminist Theory and Art Production.* A close reading of works of art and theoretical texts by feminists working from 1970 to the present. The course encourages debate around the past, present, and future relevance of feminist theories to visual cultural studies, paying particular attention to issues of cultural and ethnic difference. Enrollment limited to 18. J. Gonzalez

191F.Image and Gender.* Examines what visual representations (feminine and masculine) reveal of gender in 19th- and 20th-century European and American culture; how images reflect norms of gender; and how we are conditioned to read images in gendered terms. Explores how femininity and masculinity were conceived during historical periods and how gender ideals changed in response to social, political, and economic pressures. Students encouraged to consider the fluid nature of 21st-century notions of ideal femininity and and masculinity and possible alternatives. M. Berger,The Staff

191G.Art, Cinema, and the Postmodern.* Explores how theory can illuminate various forms of cultural production from art and cinema to popular and material cultures. Considers how scholars and visual producers utilize theory creatively and in the study of aesthetic objects and experiences. D. Murray

191I.Topics in Architecture and Urban History.* Focuses on selected topics in the history of art and visual culture. Topics vary depending on instructor. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

191M.Museum Exhibitions.* Students create and install and exhibition. Students take the roles of museum departments, moving the project from concept to installation.The impact exhibitions make in culture and society is examined throughout each step of the process. Prerequisite(s): courses 100A and 141M. Enrollment restricted to History of Art and Visual Culture majors and minors. Enrollment by instructor permission. Prerequisite(s): course 141M or by permission of the instructor. E. Cameron

191N.Topics in Renaissance Art and Visual Culture.* Seminar on changing topics related to the current scholarship on the art and visual culture of the Renaissance. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

191O.Topics in Oceanic Visual Culture.* Seminar on current scholarship on Oceanic visual culture. Topics include pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial visualities; place and the built environment; performance; race; gender; travel and tourism; cultural institutions. Prior coursework related to Oceania recommended but not required. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): CC.) S. Kamehiro

191P.Topics in Contemporary Art.* Addresses changing topics in contemporary art. The specific topic varies with each offering to keep up with new directions in scholarship. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): IM.) K. Parry

191R.Art of the Book in Western Europe 500-1600.W The history of European books circa 500-1600, primarily medieval, illuminated manuscripts and the first years of printing. Focuses on the relationship between text and image. Topics include techniques of book production, the "archeology of the book," and the life and travels of individual books. E. Remak-Honnef

191S.Topics in American Art and Visual Culture.* Advanced seminar requiring intensive research and writing on changing topics related to a specific area of American art and/or visual culture chosen to demonstrate critical mastery of this subject. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): IM.) The Staff

193F.History of Art and Visual Culture Service Learning(2 credits).F,W,S Integrates academic study with meaningful community service to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Projects may serve non-profit agencies, schools, or art/culture institutions. Enrollment is restricted to junior and senior history of art and visual culture majors and minors. Enrollment is by instructor permission. May be repeated for credit. (General Education Code(s): PR-S.) The Staff

195.Senior Thesis.F,W,S Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

198.Independent Field Study.F,W,S Independent field study away from the campus. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. The Staff

198F.Independent Field Study(2 credits).F,W,S Independent field study away from the campus. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

199.Tutorial.F,W,S Individual study in areas approved by sponsoring instructors. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

199F.Tutorial(2 credits).F,W,S Individual study in areas approved by sponsoring instructors. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

Graduate Courses

201A.Introduction to Visual Studies and Critical Theory.F Introduces the visual studies discipline, providing students with an overview of the field's development, its primary texts, and its issues of central concern. Features intensive readings and student-led discussions.(Formerly course 201, Introduction to Visual Studies.) Enrollment restricted to graduate students. A. Narath

201B.Introduction to Visual Studies and Critical Theory.W Introduces the visual studies discipline and primary texts that have made significant contributions to it. Explores theoretical discourses that have proven influential and productive for practitioners of visual studies, in a range of thematic foci and cultural contexts. Features intensive readings and student-led discussions. Students continue to work on the research topic they selected in course 201A. (Formerly course 202, Theories of the Visual.) Enrollment restricted to graduate students. K. Parry

202.Introduction to Visual Studies Methods.S Examines research methods and approaches in a variety of materials, cultures, periods, and subjects that are relevant in the discipline of visual studies. Discussions focus on research and readings by history of art and visual culture faculty who share practices, experiences, and advice. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. M. Evangelatou

204.Grant Writing(2 credits).* Devoted entirely to writing grant proposals. Students work on grants for educational support, their doctoral dissertation grants, or both. (Also offered as Film and Digital Media 204. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to visual studies and film and digital media graduate students. Enrollment limited to 15. May be repeated for credit. S. Moore

205.Grant Writing in Visual Studies(3 credits).W Devoted to grant-writing. Students work on composing and peer-reviewing research proposals, personal statements, bibliographies, CVs, and writing samples. Readings include literature on grant-writing and scholarly writing in the humanities. Enrollment is restricted to visual studies students or by permission of the instructor. M. Evangelatou

212.Yoruba Visualities and Aesthetics.* Yoruba conceptions of visuality are explored and compared to seeing through Western eyes. Critical reading focuses on Western and Yoruba scholars' work on visualities and complementary theoretical writings on Yoruba aesthetics and philosophy. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. E. Cameron

213.Theories and Visual Cultures of Iconoclasm.* Examines theories that attempt to explain iconoclasm, the willful destruction of religious or political objects, by applying the theory to various case studies. The universal aspect of iconoclasm and the differences in understanding and practice are explored. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. E. Cameron

220.Topics in Asian Visual Studies.* Examines selected and changing topics in the visual studies of Asia. The specific topic varies with each offering to keep up with recent directions in scholarship. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit. B. Ly

222.The Image of Arhat in China.* Indian Buddhist sage-monks (arhats) are portrayed in China in ways that represent a remarkable variety of visual/historical/practice traditions. This seminar examines these depictions and explores the ranges of means and functions attached to this theme. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. R. Birnbaum

224.Engaged Buddhism and Visual Culture.* Begins with an analysis of photography and films capturing the Gandhian and Dalit movement in India. Students then read key Buddhist texts on engaged Buddhism, and look at the rise of engaged Buddhism in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and how it impacted modern and contemporary art in Southeast Asia and its diaspora. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. B. Ly

232.The Monument Since 1750 in Relation to Nationhood and the Experience of War.* Investigates modern monuments (1750 to present) and the creation or maintenance of a nation, especially in terms of war and its immediate aftermath. Destruction or alteration of monuments and production of anti- or counter-monuments are also examined. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. The Staff

233.Topics in Contemporary Art and Visual Culture.* Examines selected and changing topics in the contemporary art and visual culture. The specific topic varies with each offering to keep up with recent directions in scholarship. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit. D. Murray

235.Photography and History.S Investigates the complex relationship between photography and history. Considers the evolving perceptions of photography's capacity to capture reality, the discursive means by which photographic "truths" are produced, and the utility of photographs as primary evidence. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. M. Berger

236.Contemporary Art and Theories of Democracy.* Interdisciplinary approach to the study of democratic political theory of the last two decades and its relation to contemporary art practice with an emphasis on activist art, public art, and theories of speech and performance. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. J. Gonzalez

240.Seeing Race.* Investigates how discursive systems racialized the sight of various racial and ethnic groups in 19th- and 20th-century U.S. society. Focuses on the construction and maintenance of racial values systems and on the historically specific ways in which an eclectic assortment of visual artifacts have been read by groups over time. Considers the visual and material implications of race-based sight. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. M. Berger

241.Decolonizing Nature: Contemporary Art and Ecology.* Considers how visual culture intersects with environment. Considers how, in the age of neoliberal globalization, documentary and neo-conceptual practices confront the biopolitics of climate change; the financialization and rights of nature; climate refugees; and indigenous ecologies. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. T. Demos

243.Alternative Architecture.* Focuses on what is commonly left out of architectural history: the ephemeral, informal, illegal, and uncertain. Topics include: anonymous and collective architecture; temporary interventions; everyday urbanism; and vestigial urban spaces. These topics are understood through theories of space as socially produced (Henri Lefebvre, Michel de Certeau, among others), and through cultural movements and manifestoes (Situationist International, Aesthetics of Hunger, etc.) Enrollment restricted to graduate students. The Staff

245.Race and Representation.* Explores how human subjects come to be visually defined and marked by "race" discourse. Covers diverse theoretical literatures on the topic, primarily in visual studies, but also in cultural studies, post-colonial studies, and psychoanalysis. (Also offered as Feminist Studies 245. Students cannot receive credit for both courses.) Enrollment restricted to graduate students. J. Gonzalez

250.The Cult of Mary in Byzantium: Visualities of Political, Religions, and Gender Constructs.* Through the study of the Byzantine cult of Mary, we examine diverse modalities in the construction and interaction of political, religious, and gender values, and we investigate the interrelated role of images, rituals, and text in human experience, expression, and communication. (Formerly The Cult of Mary in Byzantium.) Enrollment restricted to graduate students. M. Evangelatou

260.Visual Literacy in Spanish America, 1500-1800.* Visual literacy is considered as a particular predicament of colonial societies. Students consider the legibility of artifacts in colonial Spanish American contexts given its culturally diverse audiences and examine specific instances of (mis)interpreted images and transcultured representations. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. C. Dean

275.The Visual Cultures of Travel and Tourism.* Explores the visual cultures of travel and tourism with some focus on Oceania. Travel and tourism are implicated in the histories of colonialism, ethnography, and globalization, and offer rich sites for critical engagement with theories of transnationalism, imperialism, diaspora, and identity. Enrollment is restricted to graduate students. S. Kamehiro

280.Visual Studies Issues.W Examines selected and changing issues in visual studies. The specific issue varies with each offering to keep pace with recent directions in scholarship. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit. C. Dean

294.Teaching-Related Independent Study.F,W,S Directed graduate research and writing coordinated with the teaching of undergraduates. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

295.Directed Reading.F,W,S Directed reading that does not involve a term paper. Students submit petition to course-sponsoring agency. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

297.Independent Study.F,W,S Independent study or research for graduate students. Students submit petition to sponsoring agency. May be repeated for credit. The Staff

297F.Independent Study(2 credits).F,W,S Students submit petition to course-sponsoring agency. Enrollment restricted to graduate students. May be repeated for credit. The Staff